Inside Sculpture

HOWSON, Peter

Madonna, Bob Geldof and David Bowie are all collectors of Peter Howson's work. Peter Howson was a central figure in the ‘The New Glasgow Boys', a group formed in the 1980’s, working in Glasgow and influenced by this revolutionary, radical and important art movement.

This radical nature is clear from his career moves: he left the Glasgow School of Art at 17 to join the British Army, Lothian Branch of the Royal Fusiliers, and travel the world. Later, he worked as a labourer and landscape gardener, growing to love body building. This physicality is embodied in Peter Howsen's art and his boldly delineated black and red figures are fearsome and overbearing. Howson travelled to Bosnia in the 1990's to work on canvasses for the Imperial War Museum's war exhibition. He suffered hallucinations and dysentery, but with typical gusto, returned to finish the commission and to salvage his mental health. Later, he worked with John Cox, the director of Scottish Opera, on his production of Don Giovanni, creating a fiercely dark and original set to act as a backdrop to Giovanni's wild and debased life experiences.

Peter Howson is exhibited widely, by John McEnroe in his New York gallery amongst others. He is listed as one of the 500 most important artists in Phaiden's 20th Century Art Book. His powerful, passionate, distinctive paintings are instantly recognizable to his large band of collectors.